This invention generally relates to an inflatable medical appliance of the type commonly employed under emergency conditions by rescue personnel to counteract the effects of internal bleeding, shock and stabilize pelvic fractures when attached to lower body portions of the person and more particularly to an improved form of said appliance having physically separate inflatable components which apply an encircling pressure to the applied body portion.
Medical anti-shock trousers (MAST) are now used in emergency situations either inside or outside of hospitals to counteract internal bleeding situations as well as stabilize certain bone fractures. In doing so, the conventional medical appliance is secured to lower body portions of an injured or sick person in order to apply a compressive pressure inhibiting further bleeding and/or shock while further immobilizing any pelvic injuries found. A known medical appliance of this type is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,039,039 having inflatable trousers which enclose both legs of the person and further extend to encompass the abdominal region. The device has front and rear sections joined along the inseam portions of the leg segments and fitted to the wearer with releasable straps. The physically separate leg and abdominal chamber means in said device are inflated from a common gas supply source such as a foot pump or pressurized container. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,248 a similar garment construction for said medical appliance is formed with transparent materials enabling the covered areas of a wearer to be visually observed after the garment has been attached and inflated. The described garment also features a modular construction having the modular sections interconnected together with readily separable means such as conventional zippers to allow damaged sections to be replaced without replacing the entire garment. A further benefit said to be derived with such modular construction is ability to open the garment while inflated in order to gain access to local injuries requiring further medical attention without removing the pressure being applied elsewhere to a wearer.
To attach either of the above type garment devices to an injured or sick person requires such person to be supine with legs fully extended, thereby precluding their use in many accident situations or when the person is otherwise spatially confined, Valuable time will also be lost in moving the injured or sick person to a reclining position for attachment of the present garment devices. After inflation, covered regions of the person are also not immediately accessible without total or partial deflation of the garment. Another drawback found with such garment devices can be excessive manipulation of the person when being applied which can be most serious if a spine hip, knee or neck injury is suspected. A separate garment size can also be required for adults and children. Likewise, having the entire leg sections of such garments constructed as a single unit can require expensive repair or replacement costs.
In more recently issued U.S. Pat. No. 4,938,208 there is described a pressurized multi-chambered medical appliance which can also apply compressive pressures against the leg of a person and with said device reported to be useful when applied in pairs wrapped about both legs of the person. Each device employs a plurality of inflatable chambers enclosed in a sleeve construction extending from the upper leg of a wearer to include the wearer's foot and with the individual chambers being positioned along the sides and back of a person's leg. Understandably, such type device is again subject to many of the same shortcomings noted in connection with the garment type MAST devices now in common use so that there still remains serious need to improve the construction of an appliance serving the same general purpose.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved medical anti-shock appliance which is more convenient and versatile to apply.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved medical anti-shock appliance affording greater accessibility to the wearer's injured regions after being applied,
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved medical anti-shock appliance not limited by the physical size of a wearer.
Still another object of the present invention is to reduce the time period needed for attachment of such improved medical anti-shock appliance to an injured or sick person.
These and other objects as well as advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description being provided upon the preferred embodiments.